


Born For The Feast

by Dajokn19



Category: Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, Tokyo Ghoul, 約束のネバーランド | Yakusoku no Neverland | The Promised Neverland (Anime)
Genre: Cannibalism, Gen, Horror, Parallel Universes, Psychological Horror, Sinister Dinner Party
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29213964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dajokn19/pseuds/Dajokn19
Summary: Kaneki's hunt is interrupted by a fugitive who promises him a link to more abundant grounds.
Kudos: 6





	1. Invitation

Kaneki wandered the streets of Tokyo, looking for dinner as he had for the past several nights since CCG had begun surveiling Anteiku and Yoshimura had deemed it too risky for him to come in and out on a regular basis. 

He was hungry, starving, an intense gnawing hunger. It had been days since he'd last eaten.

It was nearly 2am and the streets around him were almost deserted. The occasional vehicle passed down the road, tires swishing on the wet asphalt. Headlights briefly illuminated the back of his green hoodie, pulled up to prevent the passersby from seeing his mask. 

He turned down an alley away from the road, towards the maze of small side streets that ran through this part of Tokyo. 

The location was anything but random. According to the news there was usually a body to be found in these streets, a suicide or an overdose, the unfortunate victim of a robbery gone bad or a gang hit. 

Of course, other Ghouls knew that too, there was bound to be some competition. 

Quiet footsteps entered the alley behind him _. There's one already?_

Kaneki span around. A figure stood still a few yards behind him, the top of his face shrouded under a hood attached to his black jacket, hands resting casually in his pockets.

His scent wasn't right, it was tangy and sharp, not neutral in any way.

"You're not a Ghoul" Kaneki stated suspiciously

"It depends on your meaning of the word" the stranger calmly replied, a sly thin smile the only expression visible under the shadow of his hood. 

"I mean you're not one of us, you're human"

"Is that so bad?" he asked "You're not entirely a Ghoul yourself after all" 

_How did he know?_ Kaneki didn't reply. He glanced up and down the alley, mentally mapping out an escape, looking for any movement in the shadows.

"There's nothing to worry about young man, your secret is safe with me." the human said in an even, reassuring tone "I've got a few of my own after all" 

He took a step forward.

"Stay where you are!" Kaneki demanded, his exposed eye glaring from behind the painted grin on his mask.

"I mean you no harm Kaneki" the man replied, stopping in mid-stride, slowly putting his foot down. The sickly joyless smile never left his face. 

_He knows my name!_

"How do you know my name! Are you with the CCG?" Kaneki asked, a slight panic building suddenly in his chest. 

If this interloper was an agent he was a stupid one, no backup, and no quinque. _I wonder if I could kill him and get away with it?_

The human laughed quietly. 

"Not at all!" he continued "In fact, I'd imagine neither the CCG nor their colleagues at the American FBI would be too happy to know I was even in Japan, let alone talking to ghouls."

"If you're lying to me I'll kill you" Kaneki threatened, putting as much danger into his voice as he could muster. 

"I hardly think so my dear Kaneki" the stranger replied condescendingly "You aren't a killer. Maybe out of necessity, out of that pure biological urge you despise but can not live without. Yes, you have killed before, and perhaps you wish you could have enjoyed it, but you regretted, always regretted"

He stepped forward again. 

The stranger's insight was eerily accurate and unsettling. 

"What do you want?" Kaneki finally asked "why are you here?"

"I've been following your activities for a while. You're different from the other Ghouls, more approachable. You haven't taken a bite of me yet I may point out" 

It was true, Kaneki hadn't felt the urge to feed on him, but now that the possibility came up the thought made him hungry. 

"I believe you would make a wonderful and fascinating dinner guest"

He had been expecting a demand or a threat, or maybe some declaration that he was in the wrong territory, but a dinner invitation!? _To a Ghoul? Was this human suicidal?_

"Uh I don't really...I don't mean to insult you but..." He wasn't sure how to reply to this. "I don't eat...human food"

"I understand of course, though it is a pity. The menu includes some genuine Kobe beef, and Junmai Daiginjo." 

He licked his lips slowly.

"Both unsatisfactory for you of course, but thankfully the centerpiece of the menu tonight is some much more special fare that I'm sure will be more to your liking" 

_This human is a cannibal?_ Kaneki was taken aback at the implication of the stranger's words.

He felt torn between revulsion at the thought of humoring this man who would dare consume his own species, and the hunger that had been gnawing him all evening. _But why should I care? Humans aren't really my species anymore...are they?_

His Ghoul eye began glowing red with hunger against the darkness of the alley, casting a faint light over the stranger's black jacket.

"Of course we would be remiss not to follow up with a coffee afterward" the man continued persuasively

Kaneki still hesitated a moment, something about this was not right. But on the other hand if this stranger was telling the truth, it meant he wouldn't have to walk for hours till he came across a natural suicide...or kill someone. 

"Ok then, let's go" 

"Splendid!" the stranger replied, as he gestured widely down the alley "Please, accompany me" 

He turned around and walked out towards the traffic on the street. Kaneki followed, keeping stride with him at a distance. 

"You know my name, but I don't know yours" 

"Call me Hannibal, or Dr. Lecter, if you prefer" 

The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Kaneki couldn't place exactly where he had heard it before.

They continued down the dimly lit sidewalk in silence, the wet concrete reflecting the neon signs of shops and bars closed hours earlier, pools of color in the drab expanse.

"Where are we going?" Kaneki asked

"I've taken the liberty of securing a private venue for our delightful evening" Lecter replied mysteriously.

After a while he turned abruptly up a side street, waving for Kaneki to follow.

The streetlights overhead were out , leaving the roadway in inky blackness. Even so his Ghoul eye was still easily able to distinguish the silouettes of boarded and locked buildings in the dark.

Glass crunched beneath his sneakers, the streetlights had all been broken, probably recently and certainly deliberately. 

"Please, do watch your step" Lecter warned, stopping in front of one of the abandoned buildings. 

He pulled a shiny device out of his pocket, pressing it against the deadbolt of the door. There was a series of rapid clicks and he turned it like a key, sliding the bolt back. 

He opened the old metal door, squeaking ominously on it's rusted hinges. 

"Just in here" 

Kaneki followed him into the structure, senses alert for the slightest hint of a trap. 

Lecter flipped on a flickering flouresent light, revealing a large room that had once been the lobby, in the middle of which was a posh rug with a wooden table on top. 

Glasses, fine china, and extravagant silverware adorned the silk tablecloth and in the center of the table stood two large and ornate silver candlesticks, flanked by covered silver trays. 

The remains of the check-in counter were covered in a neatly pressed white cloth, on which several bottles of wine and sake stood at the ready. 

Behind the counter an old stove sat against the far wall, plugged in by an extension cord traveling off into one of the adjoining hallways. Dirty pots were stacked neatly on one side while a pot of coffee was warming on the other.

Next to the stove, on what Kaneki was pretty sure had been once been an old dresser, racks of spices and a collection of vegetables waited on a large heavy cutting board. 

A row of gleaming knives was arranged on it. 

The display looked surreally out of place in the dilapidated surroundings of exposed brick, broken glass, and rusted pipe. 

"Wow, this, this isn't what I expected" Kaneki exclaimed.

"Appearances can be deceiving, a fact I'm sure you know all too well" Lecter stated, hanging his jacket up on an exposed nail by the door, as carefully as if it had been a coat rack. 

He was a middle-aged man, with broad chiseled features and white hair. His icy blue-grey eyes stared piercingly at Kaneki, glancing him up and down like a predator sizing up some game he was unsure of.

"Please have a seat" he grinned with the same joyless smile, gesturing to a chair. 

The table was set for two. _Did he collect all this just with me in mind? How long has he been stalking me?_

Kaneki began to feel uncomfortable, something was definitely not right about this. 

He sat down anyway, keeping his eye fixed on Lecter, who hurried over to the stove.

Lecter retrieved the coffee pot from the burner, placing it on a tray alongside a cup and saucer and a small creamer pitcher. 

He placed the tray in front of Kaneki before sitting down across from him.

The coffee smelled delicious, but the creamer even more so. Curious Kaneki lifted the lid, inside was a small amount of blood, dark red and freshly harvested. His mouth watered at the sight. 

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, unzipping the mouth of his mask.

He poured a cup of coffee, adding in a generous amount of blood and mixing it briefly before gulping down. The hot liquid burned his tongue but he didn't care, it tasted heavenly after not having eaten for so long.

Perhaps Lecter was telling the truth after all. 

"Feel free to unmask" Lecter offered. 

Kaneki took off his mask, laying it on the table. His human eye adjusted painfully to the sudden light.

"Where did you get it?" Kaneki inquired, indicating the blood. 

"Well that is very special indeed..." Lecter replied.

He paused to uncover the tray in the center of the table, revealing a number of small appetizers arranged on toothpicks. 

"...even more special than this" he said, holding one aloft before eating it. 

"I see" the non-answer only heightened his curiosity. 

Lecter retrieved a bottle of sake from the counter and screwed in a corkscrew, pulling out the cork with a loud pop. 

"If you would be so kind" he said, offering the bottle to Kaneki and holding out his glass.

Kaneki poured it for him. The bottle was expensive and rare. _How can he afford this as a fugitive?_ Kaneki wondered, realizing Lecter had probably stolen it.

As he put the bottle down Kaneki was tempted to try it, c _an I even get drunk?_

He held out his glass in turn.

Lecter looked slightly surprised "Are you sure?"

"I haven't tried alcohol since the, accident" Kaneki explained

"As you wish" Lecter said, pouring him a glass.

He swirled it around for a bit, hesitating to drink it. Finally he took a sip. It was indescribably bitter, with a rotten aftertaste. 

Kaneki grimaced. "well..there goes that ...idea" he stammered, suppressing a gag. 

He poured himself another cup of coffee, mixing in the rest of the blood and drinking it slowly to get rid of the taste.

"Perhaps it's best to stick with the coffee for now" Lecter suggested 

"I guess so" Kaneki agreed, disappointed.

"Tell me, you are a young man of some education, are you not?" Lecter asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, I guess so, I mean, not like you. I'm still in my undergraduate"

Lecter sipped from his glass "Literature I believe?" 

"Um, yes actually, but how..."

"University records are not exactly what I would call secure, not for someone with the right academic connections. You'd be amazed how many people become fascinated with secretly assisting an old colleague of some ... infamy"

He smiled at the word, almost sneering. 

"It's a wonder you've been able to keep up your studies. Must be quite the feat of deception, imagine what the CCG would do if they knew a Ghoul was on campus" 

"I can imagine" Kaneki said. He could, and he didn't want to. 

"I assume you are familiar with the concept of the a multiverse."

"You mean like parallel worlds? Uh, sure, yes" What does that have to do with anything?

"A colleague of mine spent his career studying such things, he believed there was a way to travel between alternate realities, spent his whole life trying to find a way to do it. In the end he succeeded."

"That's incredible!" Kaneki exclaimed, humoring him. Lecter was obviously not entirely there.

He paused. "You don't believe me of course..." 

"No, I believe you"

"Liar" he put the glass down and focused an icy stare at Kaneki from across the table. "It's rude to lie"

He sat silent for a moment evaluating him with the same predatory gaze he had earlier. Kaneki shuffled nervously in his seat, the uncomfortable feeling he had had at the beginning of the evening resurfacing. 

He knew that as a Ghoul he wasn't in any physical danger from an out of shape middle-aged human, but Lecter's change in demeanor was deeply unsettling, like watching a shark's fin disappear underwater.   
  
"I've just never heard of him, it seems he would have gotten the Nobel prize or something..."  
  
"Oh, he was nominated, against the protest of some more narrow minded members of the committee. But in the end he never showed up to accept, indeed he was never seen again." Lecter explained "Some people said he used his own machine, getting stuck somewhere in a parallel world, others took the more obvious stance that he was a fraud. That was given more credibility by the fact he seemed to have fled with a large amount of the department's grant money. His research and machines were locked away to gather dust in a basement, an embarrassment to the academy."   
  
He sipped his glass.  
  
"That was all a lie of course." Lecter continued, still staring straight at Kaneki. "His approach worked perfectly. He himself paired well with a good chardonnay, about as dry as his lectures, Nobel prize indeed! It would have been such a waste not to enjoy such a good brain" 

He broke his gaze finally, returning his attention to the appetizers. 

"This is Kobe beef " he said holding one up, "Do you know what makes it special? Each cow is cared for carefully. They live free and happy lives, with the finest of luxuries. Each animal is tracked by its own unique number and pampered to ensure it never experiences any stress or hardship. They are perfectly happy until the moment they are killed. The result is..."

He ate the appetizer, chewing it slowly.

"... succulent"

Kaneki said nothing.

"Of course, it is only beef after all, and your kind can't enjoy such luxuries"

Kaneki bristled slightly at that. _My kind!_ But Lecter wasn't incorrect, beef tasted terrible to him.

"What if I told you there was a world, an alternative reality if you will, where you could?" 

"What do you mean?" Kaneki asked.

"The answer to that! Is our main course" Lecter said, standing up from his chair.

He walked around behind the counter and pulled a white apron out of one of the drawers, along with a large frying pan. He retrieved a flask of oil and poured in a generous amount, setting the pan to simmer, whistling softly as he worked. The oil began crackling and sputtering as he turned up the heat. 

Next he moved over to the cutting board beside the stove and examined the knives laid out on it carefully before selecting two of them. A butcher's chopper and a curved serrated one. He twirled them deftly in his hands.

"Follow me" he gestured, proceeding down the adjoining hallway. 

Kaneki picked up his coffee mug and followed him down the decrepit hallway, the soiled carpet and warped fake wood wall paneling was lit only by a single bare bulb half way down. Faded white doors lined either side.

Lecter unlocked the first door on the right. Inside, sitting against the back wall of the old office was a young human boy, around twelve. He was dressed all in white, with long black hair that fell over his eyes. A large bandage was wrapped around his right hand, a few drops of fresh blood staining the white of his pants leg. 

He glared defiantly up at Lecter as he came in, before noticing Kaneki. The boy locked eyes with the Ghoul, going pale, his lip quivering speechlessly in barely contained terror. 

Lecter put the knives carefully in his apron pocket, walking over to the boy. He grabbed his head with both hands and turned it sideways, exposing the side of the boy's neck. A number was tattooed on it.

"You see" Lecter said "born and raised for the feast" 

Kaneki's stomach growled involuntary at the sight, the boy smelled absolutely delicious. His body was tender and juicy. 

His mouth watered as Lecter grabbed the boy's wrist firmly, unwrapping the bandage around his hand, revealing a gash dripping with sweet juicy blood. 

"Fancy some more?" Lecter offered, indicating Kaneki's coffee. 

Kaneki's human instincts recoiled at the thought of further injuring the boy, he didn't want to kill or hurt anyone, but the need to feed was overwhelming. His eye glowed brightly.

"Let me go! Please let me go!" The boy cried quietly, pulling as hard as he could to get out of Lecter's grip, never taking his eyes off Kaneki.

"Hush now" Lecter commanded, brandishing his knife.

Kaneki hesitated, _a little bit more blood won't kill him..._

He held out the mug. 

"Please. Don't" the boy sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut and hissing loudly through gritted teeth as Lecter cut his hand again. Fresh blood streamed into Kaneki's coffee. 

He took a drink, it tasted incredible. 

"Like that! ...demon!" The boy accused defiantly between sobs, glaring at him as he drank. 

_Demon? Did he mean Ghoul? Where did this boy come from?_

"So" Lecter asked Kaneki,drawing the butcher's cleaver "Shall we have an arm or a leg?"


	2. Pursuit

It took a moment for Kaneki to decide. He didn't want to kill the boy, but it was all he could do to keep from hungrily tearing into him unceremoniously.

"I ... I think an arm" he replied finally, _that's more survivable than a leg right?_

"Excellent choice" Lecter agreed, pulling the boy's arm up straight and raising the cleaver in the air.

Before he could bring it down the kid snatched the serrated knife out of Lecter's apron pocket with his free hand, stabbing it viciously up towards him.

Lecter reacted almost as fast, releasing his arm and dodging out of the way, but not fast enough. The blade ripped through his shirt as he spun, cutting him just below the shoulder.

"Damn you little brat!" He snarled, dropping the cleaver as the boy shoved past him, sprinting for the door. 

Kaneki considered stopping him, but some latent instinct, some human part of him, wouldn't let him do it. He stood paralyzed with momentary confusion as the boy leapt at him with the knife. 

"Out of my way demon!" the kid yelled with a desperate mixture of defiance and terror, plunging the knife squarely at his chest.

The thin blade bent under the force of the blow, stabbing into his hoodie and skidding harmlessly off his Ghoul body. 

The boy never paused to notice, sprinting as fast as he could down the dirty hallway outside the office door. 

Lecter came bounding after him with surprising speed, releasing a gutteral snarl like an animal, his sophisticated affect transformed instantly into that of a raging madman, swinging the cleaver as he ran.

The two tore into the lobby room at full speed. The boy leapt up across the table, throwing one of the large candlesticks back towards Lecter who blocked it aside, sending it flying onto the floor with a loud crash. 

The instant of distraction was all the boy needed to wrench open the front door, running out into the night. 

Lecter hesitated before chasing him out into the dark alley, stopping to glance back at the now ascue dinner display. 

" Come quickly now!" he called to Kaneki "he's getting away!" 

Kaneki followed Lecter out the door into the darkness, looking up and down the empty alley for any sign of their quarry, his Ghoul eye peering through the blackness.

"How clumsy, I do apologize, I'm afraid this little escapade has ruined the evening" Lecter remarked, moving at a near run down the road, broken glass crunching underfoot. 

"Ray!" he called into the night "I know you can hear me! You've been a very rude boy Ray." 

"He has a name?" Kaneki asked

"I'll explain when we catch him"

The road came to a dead end at an intersection behind a closed bar. The rain had resumed pinging softly off the metal trashcans and fire escapes. No one else was nearby and there was no sign of Ray. 

"I'll go right if you'll take left" Lecter said to Kaneki, moving quietly down the narrow alley, holding the cleaver hidden behind his back. 

"Ray, come out! I promise I won't hurt you!" He called peering behind dumpsters and at the landings up above.

Kaneki went the opposite direction through the drizzling rain. The blood earlier wasn't enough to quench his hunger. If they didn't find Ray soon, Lecter was beginning to look appetizing.

 _Maybe I should just go back and eat Lecter._ But it wasn't that simple, that boy, Ray, had seen him without his mask and unlike Lecter there was nothing stopping him from going straight to the CCG. _Like it or not, he has to be caught._

The alleyway way ended at the main road, as he rounded the corner he heard footsteps slapping swiftly on the wet pavement. 

_There he is!_

  
Ray was running up the road as fast as his legs could carry him, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he willed himself to keep going.

His clothes were soaked through from the rain and the gash on his hand hurt so much it was making his arm numb, but worse followed behind.

He glanced back at the footsteps behind him. The demon in the green hood was keeping pace with him, it's red eye glowing hideously in the dark. _But how, I stabbed it!?_  
  
He glanced left and right frantically, looking for another alley to dodge into. 

Kaneki followed behind Ray at a distance, the boy was understandably terrified _. I don't want to kill him._ He had hoped Lecter's invitation would spare him from this moment, but he couldn't let Ray get away. 

Kaneki put in his full speed, closing the distance in a few bounds and launching himself up into the air over his prey. He landed squarely in front Ray.

"No!" The boy shouted an instant before smacking hard into Kaneki. The sudden impact threw Ray back onto the sidewalk with a hollow thud, knocking his breath out.

Kaneki reached down instantly, snatching him up by the collar. 

"L..let..let me..go!" He demanded defiantly, struggling to catch his breath.

"Relax" Kaneki said as the boy pulled against his grip, kicking him ineffectually "I'm just going to..."

His mouth watered at the sight of Ray's tender body, the smell of his blood and fear.

"I'm going to..."

 _Going to do what?_ The conflict between Ghoul and human was unbearable in Kaneki's head. A perfect contradiction, predatory and empathetic, indifferent and ethical, hunger and disgust, nature clashing with nurture. 

"Let you go"

The instinctive decision almost surprised him as he spoke it. 

Ray stopped struggling, going limp in his grasp with a bewildered expression on his face. "What?"

Before Kaneki could release him Lecter crept up out of the darkness, holding the cleaver.

  
"Playing with our food are we Kaneki?"


End file.
